Aimee looked down at the tablet, muttering to herself. She passed it over to Jeanne with a look of concern. "Jeanne, do you realize what this says?"
"Uh, no."
"Oh. Was kinda hoping you did."
The table laughed as she placed it back in its pouch, and sent a message to Nuiko to shrink it.
"Still, uh. Probably everything we needed to talk about. Nothing else we can do but keep driving."
"Are we going back to our pairs?" yawned Jeanne.
Mia spoke up. "Er, I'd like to spend some time with Aimee." She looked at Serena. "Serena, will you be alright pairing up with Yuruko?"
Serena rapidly nodded. "Sounds good."
The new pairs went out of the diner, and they heard Serena start the tale of two Revenants outside. Watching them leave, Aimee asked Mia how her conversation with Serena had gone. She relayed it, noting Serena had seemed more confident during their fight, too.
"That's good." Aimee smiled. "Sounds like you two are starting to get along. Was a little worried you were still, uh, beating yourself up about it. You know if it was any other contract, you two would probably have killed every host in under a minute." (Mia smiled a little.) "I mean, even Matoi would think she was a crappy mentor if this was her first contract."
"I'm not sure she's capable of feeling insecure." Aimee laughed as Mia placed her own chin on her hand, looking out the window. "…I still feel a little nervous leaving her with Yuruko, but…"
"I'm sure she'll be fine. Probably better than her, uh, sneaking out to talk to her."
Mia nodded. Her instinctual reaction to Serena sneaking out that night had been anger, but she couldn't remain angry at her long: aside from the videogames & Japanese cartoons, Serena reminded her too much of her first-year self. The anger just slipped between her fingers. "She apologized that I had to hear about it from you."
"Yeah. I mean, I'm sure she likes you. Yuruko was the one yelling at me, not her." Aimee shrugged. "Honestly, I was just more surprised by that than anything. Didn't think she had that in her."
She figured once this contract was over, she'd apologize to Yuruko: she didn't want an annoyed chemist on her mind before she left. She had to admit Yuruko had a lot of guts for speaking back to her, and when she had come to Aimee's office to report her own mentor for sexually harassing her. Unfortunately, there hadn't been much else Aimee could do besides throw a scare in to him he wouldn't soon forget, and assign Yuruko to work with Gamage as a blacksmith's assistant.
"Seven Revenants left, right?" chimed Aimee and Mia smiled.
"Seven left." She leaned over to kiss her, and in the next instant -
- they heard the doors behind burst open, and as they turned -
" - are those fucking butterflies?" groaned Aimee.
And there, at the front door, was a swarm of fucking butterflies, hundreds of wings beating; they stared stupidly for an instant, and as the swarm shot towards them -
" - Worldwide!"
- a white wall of fire erupted from the ground and burned the first horde. With no time to waste, the women shot to their feet as a scarab snuffed Mia's fire, butterflies burnt to ash below.
"Fucking really?" groaned Aimee, tendrils dipping in to Mia's veins, and in the next instant -
- the diner's walls began to buckle inward, cracking and rending down, fissures starting to collapse; they rushed through the diner, and as they threw themselves out the doors to the parking lot beyond -
- they saw a second titanic swarm encapsulating the entirety of the building, proboscises digging at the outer walls; sword and knife drawn, they drew to the center of the lot and turned -
- and the entire diner collapsed, a second swarm of scarabs burning the rubble that sought their eyes. The monarch cloud turned to them, flying towards the women and surrounding them quick; and the true battle began as the two moved back-to-back.
"This always fucking happens! Every time I talk!" shouted Aimee, her knife a whirlwind of teleporting steel as she hacked and smote, hundreds of sharp proboscises seeking their eyes.
"Every time." groaned Mia, gleaming white sword burning the insectile swarm, her scarabs biting all around, butterfly wings nodding from butterfly necks that were stained crimson.
"You wanna risk it?" said Aimee, digging her tendrils in Mia's veins, and her girlfriend nodded -
- and Worldwide's sword burst in to blue flames -
- and a streak of burning blue went through the hideous swarm, disintegrating hundreds in an instant and clearing a path out, and through the hallway of butterfly blood the women ran, ice scarabs snuffing Mia's sword before it could melt.
Up the parking lot they rushed, and on to the sidewalk adjacent, buildings flanking them as they surged, immeasurable hordes in pursuit behind and immeasurable hordes in the sky above.
"They've gotta - fuck - gotta find the host, gotta find the host. Gotta be some way to track it."
"Fuck these fucking Revenants." said Mia, relevantly.
But the horde behind was fast approaching, and as the two turned and readied for another fight -
- a globe of ice formed around the butterflies, trapping the winged foes in unmeltable containment; and with the strength of time, Aimee kicked the globe away, laughing as it rolled down the sidewalk, insectile cargo crushed underneath the frozen wrecking ball.
"Least that works." chimed Aimee, and the two started again. The street corner was just ahead, and they took a wide berth and turned -
- just in time to dodge a set of proboscises seeking their necks; underneath a hundred synchronized stabs they dodged, and as the insects sought their eyes -
" - Worldwide!"
- a globe of ice formed around the horde again; but the butterflies' strength had grown. The ice began to crack, buckling inward and bursting open; and from out of the frozen prison broke the inmates, making towards the two again -
" - Rider!"
And for Aimee, the world slowed as a reflection in a disturbed pond -
- just in time for one's sharp probe to enter her neck; with a curse, she felt time speed up to dilute the damage -
- and the butterflies around fell dead in an instant.
"I, uh." panted Aimee, scratching her neck as time resumed.
"What - what is it?" said Mia, the two running again.
"I didn't do that. I just sped up time." muttered Aimee, and as the next horde descended upon them -
- a flash of Rider's tendrils, and they fell dead again.
"Didn't do it that time, either! No idea why!"
"I hope the others are alright. We need to find the source." winced Swarm, scarab swarm to protect from another swarm seeking Swarm.
++++++
"Reaaal useless here." groaned Jeanne on a nearby street, bashing the horde with Dream, her traditional steel-water useless against the flying foes surrounding them.
"Perfect for me." muttered Samuel at the front, Outcast's gauntlets a whirlwind of blue, snapping butterfly necks open and breaking butterfly spines.
The four stuck together close, three already wearing gas masks, and as Yuruko finished up her own -
" - Serena, do it!"
A stream of Blackburn's fog filled Serena's cup, and as she peeled the lid off -
- a white gas flew out of the cup and spread through the air, and all around them, the butterflies fell dead.
"That's why DDT's banned, baby." chimed Yuruko.
"This is rough." muttered Serena, and the four started down another sidewalk, housing adjacent.
++++++
"Starting to realize what it is!" panted Mia, the two fighting at the front steps of a home, her gleaming white sword cracked underneath the growing insectile might. "It's feeding on our Revenants' energy! That's why it keeps getting stronger!"
Aimee grunted in affirmation, her tendrils disappearing. Inch by inch, the pressure of the horde's strikes forced them further back, and as their backs touched the front door -
- a single fire scarab burnt the entrance down, and in to the living room swept the women, knowing to use their Revenants as little as possible. Mia's sword disappeared as they rushed across the living room and in to the kitchen, and she grinned in relief to find the stove was gas.
At her side, Aimee dug through the cabinets, throwing and smashing bottles of oil, spreading them wildly across the floor; and as the horde entered the room, she huddled close to Schultzy -
- and a single fire scarab plunged the room in to a horrific blaze, a single ice scarab protecting Aimee as the gas explosion followed, the entire house lit aflame, smoke and oil flaming.
"G-God." coughed Aimee, starting a different kind of hacking then.
"Just like firefighting." winced Mia, yanking Aimee underneath the smoke and on to the floor -
- but the two slipped on to a surviving drop of oil, and Aimee landed on top of Mia, hands danger close to pinning her.
"Er, you want to do this right now?" chimed Aimee, and Mia hacked a laugh out.
"I - told you - we can't use our Revenants."
"I dunno, you said I'm pretty good even without -"
" - AIMEE!" laughed Mia, barely able to stifle it as she pulled her tablet out. "We have to let the others -"
- but from out of the smoke came a dozen surviving butterflies, and their proboscises shot to her tablet; ripping it from her grip, they started to fly away with it -
" - Worldwide." winced Mia, and a pole of ice extended from her hand to the tablet; a yank of it back, and Aimee swept away the frozen dead as Mia typed quick. With a nod, the two shot to their feet, smoke shrouding them as they felt blindly around -
" - here!" shouted Mia, vaulting out of a window and to the outside, yanking Aimee with her a second later. The two rushed along the side of the home, still seeing a titanic swarm claim the business district in the distance, thousands of burnt butterflies around the smoldering house.
"Hey, wait." panted Aimee, and the two cut back around the home, running out on to the road ahead. "Look at that line."
Mia turned her eyes, and she nodded as she caught it quick, their new destination a mile away but deeper in town.
"Doesn't that look like where they're coming from?" said Aimee, singular line of butterflies joining the swarm on the distance.
"Likely, er - hatching them?"
"Got no other lead."
The women set out.
++++++
And at the other end of town, the four backed in to the front door of another home, the titanic swarm having reached eye-level, fifty feet separating them and them.
"We can funnel them in to this, but -" grunted Samuel, Outcast's armor with a score of cracks, proboscises meant for others he had taken.
"Got something better - but it's gonna need our Revenants." winced Yuruko, knowing the restriction now, and the four nodded. "Serena! Water!"
At her left, Serena's cup filled with water; at her right, a hailstone of dry ice formed in Yuruko's gloves, and as she threw it to the swarm ahead -
- it fell only inches short, and as Serena threw her cup on to the dry ice -
- an explosion of white smoke erupted and claimed the entire swarm, vague shapes of wings still beating within and living; and as Jeanne sprayed at the cloud of smoke -
- the stream ended only inches before the cloud, the edge of Dream's range, and as the butterflies started flying through again -
" - spray again!" shouted Samuel, and his voice whipped Jeanne to spray again -
- and the next scene was instant. A shove of Outcast's blue gauntlet forward, and the stream flew swifter and further; the smoke turned to amber-smoke, and in to the sudden barrier smashed the butterflies, stuck as a fossilized dinosaur.
"You never said you could manipulate gases!" panted Jeanne.
"I've never been able to do that before." muttered Samuel. "I've never felt this strong before."
"Not again." groaned Serena.
++++++
The prodigal couple rushed through another burning building, smoke and dead butterflies around, and they shoved through the back door to the street beyond -
" - there!" shouted Aimee, pointing to a flowershop further down the street, where a steady pace of butterfly customers were exiting. Down the sidewalk they ran, and as they reached the door, a miniscule spray of blue fire cleared their path.
They rushed inside the store, aisles of flowers to their right, their male foe at the other end, a hundred feet separating them and he; but few could match Aimee's speed. Her tendrils went taut, and in the next instant she was fifty feet away, and as she readied to clear the clearing -
- the man laughed, and Aimee heard Mia's urgent scream behind. She wheeled and turned, and saw a butterfly the size of three women, enormous proboscis seeking Mia's ears, the prodigal hero forced back and running.
"You've figured out Madama's restriction - but without use of your Revenant, you can't stand against her!" shouted the man, Aimee running in pursuit of him. "With Worldwide's power - she'll make a far better breeder!"
A dozen feet separated the two now, Mia still rushing and dodging the butterfly that sought her mind.
"And - of course -" laughed the man - " - if you'd like to use your Revenant, it'll only strengthen it -"
"- good." grunted Aimee, knife in hand, tendrils not. "Because I don't want you to die quickly."
That monster had hurt Mia. His death alone wouldn't satisfy her.
She threw her knife forward, and as the man instinctively threw his arm out with a cry -
- the keen end pierced his chest just in time for her tackle, and the two combatants hit the ground fighting. In a whirlwind of blows they revolved down the aisle, and as his hand shot to her knife's hilt -
- her thumbs shot to his eyes, and even Mia winced as she saw Aimee dig in, gouging the white sockets. A shriek escaped him as he thrashed and writhed, left hand gripping desperately her face, and as his right yanked the blade out -
- she ripped it back from him, free hand craning his right wrist down, inch-by-inch. Few could match the Mad Dog's strength, and as his left fingers sought her eyes -
- a whirl of steel cut his left hand clear off, a burst of blood as his hand fell. A horrific scream filled the aisle, and as Aimee's grip tightened on his right hand -
- as a woman might snap a wishbone, she snapped his hand back to his wrist.
Again and yet again, she stabbed through his lips and tongue, slashing deeper down. Again and yet again, blood filled his throat; a second slash opened it, and as she ground his face against the floor -
" - I believe he's dead, Aimee." chimed Mia, suddenly stood over, and Aimee's head shook, Mad Dog gone feral.
"I… oh. Uh."
Mia laughed, offering her hand to Aimee. She took it. "Was that you getting your stress out?"
"Uh, could call it that." laughed Aimee, a few long breaths. "…haven't gotten to just let loose, in a while. Besides. He tried to hurt my Schultzy." She winked.
Mia laughed, and her scarabs cooled their wounds. "One down, six to go."
Aimee smiled and nodded. "Yeah. What would that be? Butterfly dumbass?"
The two laughed.
"Let's destroy the Revenant." Aimee enhanced Mia, and a pillar of blue flame disintegrated the grisly corpse. "…and then, uh… We'll be alone tonight, right? For the rest of the trip?"
"Are you asking for some Rider-time?"
"Maybe." Aimee smiled. "Just didn't know if, uh… y'know."
Mia smirked. "Let me check on my protege, first."